A matching grant has been received for donations of up to $2,000! Donate today!

Hertencia Petersen, aunt of Akai Gurley

Marion Gray-Hopkins, mother of Gary Hopkins Jr.

Zaqunna Albert with Delrawn Smalls

Jacqueline Minifield-Brown, mother of D’londre Minifield

Toni Taylor, mother of Cary Ball

Nicholas Heyward Sr., father of Nicholas Heyward Jr.

Ang Hicks, aunt of Shantel Davis

We are writing today on behalf of many families who have lost loved ones to police violence, and are asking for our collective support to get them to the People’s Congress of Resistance.

In the last 10 days, we have witnessed an enormous outpouring of anti-racist protesters across the country standing in solidarity with Charlottesville, Virginia, and standing up to the white supremacists. Donald Trump’s refusal to outrightly condemn their murderous violence, and his defense of the Confederate monuments, has only strengthened the resolve of millions to build a powerful people’s movement against racism and fascism in the streets.

The People’s Congress of Resistance will bring together anti-racist organizers nationwide, from Black Lives Matter chapters to campus activists to families directly impacted by police terror. We need your help to get them there.

We already know the grim statistics. Every 28 hours a Black person is killed by a police officer, security guard or vigilante. Since 2005 there have been roughly 12,000 police murders, but less than 30 convictions of officers. That these murders are disproportionately of Black young people, many unarmed, is also a fact that permeates the consciousness and minds of every Black parent.

Reporters, activists, and community leaders often point to the resilience of these families in the face of such tragedies. After the cameras leave and the lights fade, it’s this resilience that continues the light the path to justice for thousands taking from us unjustly by police violence.

The energy that sustains the rallies, marches, testimony, vigils, discussions and other forms of resistance to police harassment, brutality and murder is driven by the steadfastness of those who have felt the loss of their loved ones the closest. That’s why the People’s Congress of Resistance spoke to many of us so strongly. It is a gathering of the grassroots resisters, a gathering of those doing the day-in and day-out organizing, often unheralded, many times in the most oppressed communities. That is the work we do too.

Fighting white supremacy means more than rejecting the explicit racists of the “alt-right” and the symbols of the Confederacy. It means showing solidarity with Black, Native and Latino freedom movements in their current battles against institutionalized discrimination and violence.

The police allowed the terrorists to roam free in this violent attack in Charlottesville. Instead, they are arresting and targeting those that have stood against them. The corporate-owned media has given the fascist and white supremacist movement a platform to project their ideas.  Now more than ever, we need to give “a voice and vision” to the revolution we need, as stated in the People’s Congress of Resistance manifesto.

Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins, uncles and aunts of those brutalized and killed by police violence are ready to come to Howard University this September 16-17. They are ready to add their voices to the hundreds of others looking to create a real people's-led resistance.

Traveling to Washington, D.C., from around the country and staying two days has its costs. With your help we can defray those costs and bring the families' voices to the People's Congress of Resistance. We’ve already received a matching donation of up to $2,000! So if you donate now your contribution will go twice as far.

Together, we’ve stood up against the most powerful forces of the state countless times; now help us to bring these families to stand with other grassroots organizers as we build the resistance. Please donate now to help the families of the victims of police violence be present in the largest possible numbers, from the widest range of places, at the People’s Congress of Resistance this September.

In solidarity,

Kerbie Joseph
NYC organizer against police brutality

Eugene Puryear
Stop Police Terror Project in Washington, D.C.; Movement for Black Lives D.C Steering Committee

  on behalf of the People's Congress of Resistance and

Marion Gray-Hopkins, mother of Gary Hopkins Jr.
Hertencia Petersen, aunt of Akai Gurley
Nicholas Heyward Sr., father of Nicholas Heyward Jr.
Zaquanna Albert, girlfriend of Delrawn Smalls
Ang Hicks, aunt of Shantel Davis
Natasha Duncan, sister of Shantel Davis
Family of Cesar Cruz
Toni Taylor, mother of Cary Ball
Jacqueline Minifield-Brown, mother of D’londre Minifield

Did you miss the recent promo video for the People’s Congress? Check it out here.

Follow this link to register and find housing options here.

Prefer to watch and share on Facebook? Click here

Fresh off the release of the People's Congress of Resistance manifesto "Society for the Many: A vision for revolution," check out this new promotional video which highlights all the social struggles, historical and present, that will be reflected in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 16-17.

(If you haven't yet read the manifesto, check it out here.)

This video will be a great organizing tool for those planning on coming to the People's Congress of Resistance. This weekend, there will be People's Congress of Resistance events in New York City, Asheville, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, among others, where the Manifesto will be presented and discussed. Distribute the Manifesto and organize an event in your area.

Get involved!

• Register today for the Sept. 16-17 People's Congress of Resistance.
• Donate to support a student or person with a fixed income, who otherwise would not be able to come to D.C.
• Find housing options, including discounted hotels and hostels, for the People's Congress here.
• Want to volunteer? Follow this link!

Download and print: 8.5x11 11x17 booklet

Use the Manifesto to organize an event in your area

Donate to help bring student and low-income delegates to the People's Congress

Register for the Sept. 16-17 Congress

'Society for the Many: A vision for revolution' 

We are excited that the Manifesto of the People's Congress of Resistance will be released this Tuesday!

Titled "Society for the Many: A vision for revolution," it sets out a bold and clear program for people's power, emancipation, equality and a society to meet human needs. In the introductory paragraphs, the People's Congress of Resistance Manifesto explains: 

"Without a revolutionary vision, change will not take a revolutionary direction. Resistance will remain rudderless, an exercise in activism for its own sake, or it will be co-opted into a vessel for the political elites. A vision for social, economic and political revolution is necessary. We need to know where we want to go. Our vision ties our actions to our goal by showing us what we are mobilizing for. It guides us in coordinating our strategies and tactics. It helps us build collective strength. Our vision tells us how we can win and that we will win. 

"A society organized for the equality and emancipation of the many is one where production is democratically directed for the benefit of the many and not for the private profit of the few. Rather than banks and corporations determining people’s lives and futures, the people determine their destiny themselves."

The Manifesto will be released in its entirety on Tuesday, laying out our core vision and central tasks. If you agree with the message of the People's Congress of Resistance, show your support by sharing this announcement on Facebook and Twitter, and forwarding this email.

Register today for the Sept. 16-17 People's Congress of Resistance.

Donate to support a student or person with a fixed income, who otherwise would not be able to come to D.C.

Looking for other ways to volunteer, get involved and support the work of the People's Congress of Resistance? Follow this link!

General John Kelly has taken the helm at the Trump White House.

This must be understood as a declaration of all-out war against immigrant families.

There is no time to wait. We must fight back!

On Tuesday, U.S. immigration authorities deported Beatriz Morelos, a mother of four who has lived in Painesville, Ohio for nearly 20 years, to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, where she has no family and is at high risk of becoming a victim of violent crime.

Although General John Kelly -- Donald Trump's new Chief of Staff -- was at his old job at the Department of Homeland Security for only a few months, the disgusting and brutal policies he pursued are continuing to rip apart families.

"My people have been discouraged from doing their jobs for nearly a decade", then-DHS Secretary Kelly lamented in April. As the outrageous deportation of Beatriz Morelos shows, the job of U.S. immigration authorities is to sow terror and inflict misery on immigrant communities. Morelos was arrested -- and subsequently deported -- not for any violent or even petty crime, but because she was driving without a license as all undocumented people in this country must.

Under President Obama, more immigrants were deported than during any other administration. But because of the determined struggle of immigrant communities his administration was forced to implement measures that gave partial relief such as DACA and DAPA.

General Kelly, who commanded the apparatus that is responsible for this and so many other acts of senseless cruelty, was overwhelmingly supported by the U.S. Congress. The Senate voted 88-11 to confirm him as DHS Secretary, including several members of the so-called progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Thanks to the extreme anti-immigrant racism of the Trump administration and the bipartisan endorsement of the U.S. Congress, Kelly is now the chief enforcer of the Trump agenda.

If the Congress of millionaires is going to give its near-unanimous endorsement to the monster responsible for the extreme injustice suffered by Beatriz Morelos’ family, then the people need a Congress of our own. Join us at the People’s Congress of Resistance September 16-17 at the Blackburn Center at Howard University to demand full rights and legalization for all immigrants now!

Yellow Springs, Oh.

Raleigh, N.C.

Nashville, Tenn.

Atlanta, Ga.

Imagine a government where the people are so dissatisfied and disgusted by the national legislature that they're happier when it's not in session and not able to pass laws. You don't have to imagine. This institution, which supposedly represents the people, is rightfully seen as a threat to people's livelihoods, health care, social programs and retirement; a threat to peace; and an enemy of equal rights. Their main point of argument with each other is not whether to attack poor and working people, but how much.

Starting today and through the month of August, the people of the country can wake up in the morning, check their phones and not have to worry about seeing what horrific thing Congress did the day before.

But that doesn't mean that we will be resting. Because when Congress comes back in session, they have an aggressive agenda to slash the people's most desperately needed social programs, to intensify hostilities with North Korea, Syria, Russia and Venezuela. While the Congress of Millionaires goes away, grassroots resisters nationwide are preparing and mobilizing for the People's Congress to fight back!

Here are two things you can do to help spread the word:

New York, N.Y.

Maryland

1. Take and post a picture of 'Why I'm Joining the People's Congress of Resistance'

To spread the word, people around the country are starting to take pictures with a sign that explains why they support the People's Congress of Resistance. Download this sign or create your own, then share it publicly on social media with the hashtag #PeoplesCongress or email it to [email protected] 

Can you take a minute to write your own personal message and post a picture? You never know who will see it and be inspired to get involved!

2. Organize locally 

People's Congress supporters nationwide are continuing to hold community meetings with our organizers' toolkit, and will be joining local actions confronting their Congressional "representatives" when they come home during the recess. Email us if you'd like help.

The time is now. The U.S. Congress continues to have record disapproval ratings, year after year, regardless of who is elected and in office. But the only way people will learn that a new alternative is forming — the People's Congress of Resistance — is if each of us takes the time to spread the word across all our communities and networks.

Looking for other ways to get involved? Follow this link for six other ways to support the People's Congress of Resistance!

Don't forget to register for the Sept. 16-17 People's Congress of Resistance. Only 6 weeks away!

We fight for health care for all — no exceptions!

Rallying in front of the Capitol for Improved Medicare for All (Single-Payer)

The Republican-led Congress is engaged in a last-ditch effort to repeal  Obamacare and keep "TrumpCare" alive, even though the vast majority of the country — and practically all health care providers — oppose this new bill. The Senate's current proposal would repeal Obamacare and replace it with nothing. The House version would gut Medicaid, eliminate coverage for 20 million people, cut off Planned Parenthood funding, and transfer billions of dollars in tax cuts to the wealthy.

This week, organizers and volunteers with the People's Congress of Resistance were proud to join the Millions Marching for Medicare 4 All activities across the country, including one rally right on the Capitol steps. 

We will be joining more grassroots actions in districts nationwide during the Congressional recess to challenge and confront all policymakers who are attacking poor and working people's coverage, and who stand in the way of universal health care.

The People's Congress of Resistance believes quality medical and dental care are basic human rights, a right that is denied to tens of millions of people. The People’s Congress of Resistance calls for a universal, government-funded healthcare system, one in which every person, regardless of ability to pay, would have access to medical and dental care.

Presently, the United States does not actually have a health care “system” at all, but instead a confusing and profit-driven mix of private and public insurance plans, private hospital and nursing home chains, giant pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment makers, etc. Of all the developed economies, U.S. per capita spending on health care is the by far the highest and profits are the greatest, but the United States ranks dead last in efficiency.

What is needed is whole new approach to health care (for the United States). The foundation of a real healthcare system would be local/neighborhood health clinics, dedicated to basic preventive as well as palliative care. Tens of thousands of such clinics could be built in every town and neighborhood across the country. In such a system, general and specialized hospitals would treat more serious illnesses and conditions. Construction and staffing of clinics and upgrading hospitals would provide millions of new, good-paying jobs, and make healthcare accessible for everyone.

To truly solve the present crisis, health care must cease to be treated as a profit-making commodity, but instead as a vital human service. The denial of available care to people in need because they cannot afford to pay is a disgrace.

In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”

If you agree, show your support by sharing this article on social media and forwarding this email.

Register today for the Sept. 16-17 People's Congress of Resistance.

Donate to support a student or person with a fixed income, who otherwise would not be able to come to D.C.

Looking for other ways to volunteer, get involved and support the work of the People's Congress of Resistance? Follow this link!

Building a People's Congress of Resistance

We are thrilled that such a diverse group of people and organizations, including you, have endorsed the People’s Congress of Resistance this September. Your voice, your politics, and your ideas matter — and we are so looking forward to this unique opportunity for grassroots resisters nationwide to come together, strategize, and develop a common vision!

All endorsers have a special role to play to ensure the success of the People’s Congress of Resistance, and so it can continue growing in these next two months.

The People’s Congress already has hundreds of endorsers. Below are way that every endorser can help the People’s Congress grow as a true representative of the people actively defending their communities and demanding people’s power:

1. Commit to sending delegates -- make sure your vision is represented.  Register here!

2. Reach out personally to invite FIVE more people’s organizations and individual activists and ask them to extend invitations to their contacts. 

3. Fundraise locally to cover the travel and housing expenses of your delegates, and to send students and people on fixed incomes from your area who otherwise would find it difficult. 

4. Publicize the People’s Congress of Resistance on your website, social media pages  and in your email blasts. Add a People’s Congress of Resistance image to your Facebook profile, email blast or website (you can copy the image and code here.) 

5. Organize a volunteer meeting.  You can find useful resources in our NEW toolkit like sign up sheets, flyers, and facilitation guides.  You can register people at the meeting and take pictures with the “I support the People’s Congress of Resistance because” signs and share them on Facebook and Twitter with #CongressOfResistance. (A promotional video to show at your meetings will be uploaded shortly -- stay tuned.)

6. Take and post pictures with a personalized message on the “I support the People’s Congress of Resistance because ...” signs. Share them on Facebook and Twitter publicly with #CongressOfResistance so they can be shared widely!

7. Distribute the 4-page, bilingual full-color broadsheets in your area. Just email if you’d like a shipment sent to you! 

8. Invite a PCOR organizer to present to your organization in person or via Skype.  Email [email protected] to connect.

Let’s mobilize all our communities and demonstrate what a truly representative People’s Congress looks like!

As wealth inequality grows in the United States and people struggle to afford basic necessities, civil unrest is growing. Rather than responding with policies to address these unmet needs, the state responds with repression. The political system in the United States has lost its legitimacy and people are searching for alternatives. The People's Congress of Resistance, which meets this September 16 - 17 in Washington, DC, is designed to shift political power to the people. We speak with two of the organizers, Walter Smolarek and Karina Garcia. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Last night activists in Raleigh, North Carolina, had their first People's Congress of Resistance planning meeting, and recently, organizers in San Antonio, Boise, Portland and Bloomington did the same. Next week there are launch meetings in Nashville, Atlanta and Birmingham. There's no doubt that momentum is growing across every region of the country, with caravans now being planned from New Mexico, Florida, Ohio, Georgia and Illinois.

In the D.C. area as well, several local tenant associations and organizations fighting gentrification and redevelopment — including Dahlgreen Courts Tenants Association, Brookland Manor/Brentwood Village Residents Association and Save McMillan Action Coalition — have come together to endorse and mobilize for the People's Congress of Resistance. Based in the District's working-class Black communities, they are confronting a gentrification scheme led by banks and developers that threatens to remove them from the neighborhoods in which they've lived for generations.

Dozens of additional organizations — from anti-war to Black Lives Matter to Palestinian liberation and faith-based groups — have now endorsed, including Veterans for Peace, the New Abolitionist Movement, and Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement.

As we are now only two months away, it's time for everyone to start making their plans to be at Howard University, on Sept. 16-17, to take part in this historic event.

• Registration is now open!
• For those looking to make housing arrangements, we've reserved blocks of rooms in hotels, hostels and churches in the surrounding areas.
• Join hundreds of others who have changed their Facebook profile picture to include the People's Congress of Resistance frame — go here and search "pcor"!
• You can volunteer to spread the word in your area.
• A critical aspect of bringing the grassroots resisters to Washington is fundraising. A crowd-funding campaign has been launched that everyone can join and promote — it only takes a few minutes.
• Interested in organizing a meeting or presentation about the People's Congress in your area? Fill out this form and we can send you materials, and have a national organizer give you a call.

The time is now to get involved!